What is the most luxurious European river cruise line

[Snuffie]

We have never done a river cruise and have only been on Crystal and Regent. What is the most luxurious and best riverboat cruise line for Europe. We are most interested in the Danube. Thanks your your comments and suggestions.

[orchestrapal]

Probably Tauck, Vantage or Scenic (just beginning this year). We are going on Vantage in a "suite" 300 sq.ft.

That's about the best you can do.:)

[letsgo39]

I believe there are a couple that are 5 star,Deilman and another one who's boats are called Swiss something.Deilman is a German company so the official language onboard is German but they are starting to market to the US market.There are several on here that have cruised on Deilman so I am sure you will hear from them. I believe the ones mentioned above are considered 4 star.DH and I cruised on the Avalon Tranquility last summer and it was wonderful. Avalon is considered 4 star.

[orchestrapal]

There is a discussion on his site about "stars". When it comes to river boats it is very hard to discuss stars when you are usually squeezed into 160-180 sq.ft. How can anyone call that 5*?:confused:

[steamboats]

orchestrapal,

 

I don´t think the cabin size is the only thing to rate a ship. It´s also the food and service. Even with a 300 sqft cabin you can have average food and bad service.

 

On Deilmann´s Mozart every outside cabin is 215 sqft (even on the lower deck). You have 10 cooks preparing your meals up to 9 courses. Each cook is well experienced and has worked all over the world in large hotels. In your cabin you´ll find a lot of small things which are making the difference (umbrella, sewing kit, shoe shine cloth, clothes brush, stationary, slippers, robe...). Everything you´ll also find in a 5 star hotel.

 

Actually I don´t mind a small cabin as I don´t use it pretty much except for sleeping (and of course the bathroom with glas enclosed showers not a sticky curtain, toiletries, shower cap...).

 

Free wine and beer is also great. But be sure it´s not the best wine they are serving for free. It is definitely o.k. (you can get a good bottle of wine for app. 5 EUR over here). I don´t drink very much alcohol so I don´t mind anyway. But I had some very excellent, local wines on the Deilmann ships you won´t find in a local supermarket. I remember that they restocked their supply at Duernstein from local wineries.

 

Amadeus, Avalon, GCT, Uniworld, Vantage, Viking are offering great products. I never said something else. Included shore tours are keeping your onboard expenses low so do included wine/beer/sodas with meals.

 

Neither the size of the cabin nor the age of a ship is telling you anything about the quality of the product in total.

 

BTW those are the companies which I´d rate most luxury on the European rivers: Deilmann, Sea Cloud, Scenic (according to their website) and the new Premicon Queen (according to the website).

 

steamboats

[Betty/Avie]

Hi Snuffie,

 

There is a world of difference between river boat cruises and ocean cruises! We have done both, and I just cancelled an ocean cruise in favor of another river cruise in Europe.

 

Luxury on a river cruise is quite different from that on an ocean cruise ship. And there is a vast difference between river boats and the service on Crystal or Regent! For example (at least from our experience), if one wants a bottle of wine chilled, you get the ice yourself! If you want ice in your cabin, you take your ice bucket to the ice machine! The cabin attendants are just that. They are housekeepers. They clean the rooms when you are not in them, and turn down the beds when you are at dinner. That's about the extent of it. Dining room service is pleasant, but you do not have the luxury of formal service.

 

All that said, we do love riverboats! (We have experienced butler service in suites on ocean-going vessels, but we gladly give that up for the pleasure of the riverboats!) In short, riverboating is about the people on board and the towns that you visit. In our view, the quality of the tours in the various towns ranks high on the list of an excellent line. And the passengers with whom we have traveled add to the enjoyment of the trip.

 

I know this doesn't answer your question -- but hopefully it will put the two types of cruises into perspective so you can make your decision.

[Snuffie]

I appreciate all of the great response.

 

I tried to seek out fare from Premicon Queen but their site only provides a range. I did request a brochure and fares. Hopefully I will receive in time for late this summer.

 

Again, thank you all!

[Hot2Travel]

Probably Tauck, Vantage or Scenic (just beginning this year). We are going on Vantage in a "suite" 300 sq.ft.

That's about the best you can do.:)

 

Do Vantage suites have balconies with seating? :)

[fromday2]

I know the Vantage Discovery, which is their newest ship does not have seating on the balcony.

 

I do not know but I suspect none of the river boats have balcony seating. All boats have to fit through the locks, so any balcony seating will reduce the width of the cabin and reduce cabin size.

 

Al

[Jack1]

Scenic Tours ships have small balconies that have 2 chairs and a small table on them.

[orchestrapal]

The real balconies sound great but how much space do they take from the rooms.

In other words how large or small are the rooms?:confused:

[Jack1]

According to a brochure I have, the standard staterooms (No balcony) are 160 sq feet and their standard balcony cabins (including balcony) is 200 sq feet. So if I do the math correctly, perhaps the balcony is 40 sq feet which I believe is the standard size of balconies on many ocean ships we have been on?? Assuming cabin size is the same, the difference in size must be the blaconies??

Just my 2 cents worth.

There are also suites too that are larger, but not in my budget this year.

Faye

[orchestrapal]

Thanks! The current problem for us is that it seems that Scenic only has one cruise that they sell in 10 ways! Hope they get another ship for some other European rivers.:)

[Jack1]

Yes, seems like same basic itinerary with many various add ons. There are a couple shorter cruises that are tiny bit different but for the most part it is back and forth from Amsterdam to Budapest. Hopefully when the add the 3rd and 4th ships they will be able to mix it up a bit!! We are excited to try them out, heck- just excited to have a vacation. But it is still not till next year.

[orchestrapal]

We're going on our first river cruise Amsterdam to Budapest in October on Vantage"s discovery. We love small ship ocean cruising and hope we'll like this too.

If we do we'll be looking at French rivers for a future river cruise.:)

[fromday2]

We did this trip on the Discovery last September. Very good trip, ship immaculate, crew very helpful, food excellent.

 

We went 3 days early to spend time in Amsterdam. We also stayed late, 3 days in Budapest. The early and late parts are wonderful as you spend more time in the local culture, rather than spending most evening and night on the boat. In Budapest a trip to the State Opera House to hear the Symphony orchestra was a high point, and very inexpensive. You probably want to get tickets before you leave, on the web.

 

Al

[orchestrapal]

Al,

Thanks. We have been to Budapest and Amsterdam before and are only staying 3 days in Budapest at the end of our trip before going to London for 3 weeks. We will get both symphony and opera tickets. As I work for a major US orchestra I have pull all over the world for tickets.

So glad you enjoyed the Discovery and very happy to hear that the food was also good. We look forward to our time on her.:)

[Paolosmom]

We just came home from the Viking River cruise, Rhine Getaway. On a 1-5 this is at best a 3, and if you cruise Regent, as we do, forget it. The food is mediocre, limited choices, poorly seasoned, and not enough waiters. You must eat at set times, and cannot be late for dinner. The soups and salad dressings were watery, and the lunch buffet repetitive.

 

The tours were well executed, great guides. The biggest problem is not enough time in the cities to wander on your own. The rooms are ok, but a good cruise line would have plexiglass shower stalls, not cheap curtains. The internet service is slow.

 

The crowd on the boat is OLD, and I mean old. We had a few in their nineties, using wheel chairs, walkers, canes, you name it.

 

Many of the passengers used Viking to book their air, and were given horrendous connections at high prices. You can always do better by booking on-line.

 

So to sum it up, stay away from this line unless you want to be regimented, and like middle of the line food.

[Hot2Travel]

Great and informative thread. Keep in going!:) :cool:

[Ricky Chan]

Thanks! The current problem for us is that it seems that Scenic only has one cruise that they sell in 10 ways! Hope they get another ship for some other European rivers.:)

 

I just received it's 2009/2010 brochures. It will have a total of 4 brand new ships this time next year. And it offers many new itineraries.

 

Myself I have booked it's 2009 11-day "Gem of the Danube River" cruise. This will be our first river cruise. Hopefully we will have had a positive experience.

 

Ricky

[Elyilona]

Hi I cannot find the new thread button. How do you do it? Has anyone been on the MS Artistry recently.It was started in 2004 And I want to know if it is well maintained. EP

[Steph27]

You should see a "search this Thread" button on the right. It is next to "Thread Tools". I am going on the Artistry June 1 and will let you know after I return.

[realent]

Thank you so much for your input on this subject. I am doing some research and looking for reviews and opinions (recent) of the best of the best. What you like and why. I am looking for 5 stars in the River Cruise Market based on the best service, wine and dining. How you are treated by the crew. I am looking for more true European trained crew who really know how to treat their guests. Not in a stuffy way, just *well*.

 

Thank you in advance.

Nancy

[Arizonasunshine]

We agree pretty much with Polosmom, we have just returned from a Viking "Cities of Light" cruise. One of the passengers referred to the cabin as a Motel 6 on the water.She was not far from the truth. The upside is that we did make some great friends on this cruise. In my mind this is the real plus on River Cruises, the small passenger numbers give you an opportunity to really meet and mingle with your fellow passengers.

[Rivercruiseresource]

@Arizonasunshine- Allow me to disclose that I work for Viking River Cruises.

 

You are absolutely right; the best part of river cruising is the people you meet. However, we are really sorry to hear that the accommodations may not have been up to your expectations. If you would like to discuss this with us in more detail, please send an email to Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com. Thank you.